A member of my family suffers from anxiety attacks. At the first sign these attacks are about to occur our GSD launches and begin to profusely lick that persons face. In the normal course of life this dog is not a submissive dog.
What is it that the dog is detecting?
And is this a natural skill that can be put to use?

by susie on 13 November 2017 - 18:11

I guess it's the different smell of the person ( hormones ).
In case the person is able to get out of it's anxiety with the help of the dog it's helpful, no matter why.
Out of curiosity: Does the dog recognise the attack before the person becomes aware of it, or does it happen to the same time?
In case the dog is faster, the human may learn to act accordingly.

by Glock on 13 November 2017 - 19:11

The dog launches before anyone of us including the person . Its just funny to see a dog suddenly striving and forcefull so to lick the persons face. Good thing is that it came naturally for the without training. The dog is able to detect the arrival of anyone to the house way before we are also able to detect that someone has come or a family member has returned from school / work.

by Glock on 13 November 2017 - 19:11

Thanks Suzie. I would like to hear Breanfangs on this. I think she is experienced with different types of assistance dogs.

by KYLE on 07 December 2017 - 21:12

There are assistance dogs for people that suffer from seizures. Some how the dogs can tell just before a person is going to have a seizure and gets them to lay down in a safe place.